• Latest in room-filling sound from Amazon
• Alexa Plus capabilities
• Sensors to customize volume

• Alexa Plus costs $20 if you aren't a Prime subscriber
• The Death Star-like design is a little weird

Amazon's newest smart speakers come with spatial audio and other sound enhancements, which are especially noticeable in the powerful Echo Studio. With the Alexa app, this smart speaker can connect to a wide variety of services, from your favorite music streaming option to Uber, food delivery apps and more. Alexa can also connect with many smart home devices and control them with a voice command, including lights, locks and smart plugs. You can even pair two Studios and connect them to a compatible TV for theater sound.

One of the big highlights of this new speaker is Alexa Plus, a more advanced AI version of the voice assistant that's free for Prime users, but otherwise costs $20 per month. Alexa Plus is a cheerier and generally more informative voice assistant with expanded capabilities, a generally strong upgrade compared to past versions of Alexa, so if you've been looking for a voice assistant to help out around the home, this is a good time to jump in.

• Decent sound from small speaker
• Wall-mountable
• Fun color choices

• No aux port

Google's Nest Mini smart speaker isn't as powerful as the new Echo, but it's a great budget-friendly option for Google users.

The audio quality in the Nest Mini is respectable, given its price and profile. It also hasa wall-mounting notch on the underside, if that's what you're into. An interesting presence detection method that uses the speaker and microphone to determine your proximity to the Nest Mini helps it trigger LED indicators that help you make better sense of the otherwise obscured physical volume controls. And with Google's Gemini for Home upgrades, these Nest speakers are getting even better with a subscription. Think of this speaker as an excellent desk companion, especially if you prefer using Google Home as a control app for your smart home.

• Quick gesture support
• Sleep tracking
• Improved audio quality

• Sleep tracking will cost at some point
• No camera for video calling

Amazon may have introduced the smart display with theEcho Show, but Google refined the concept with its Nest Hub line, which reached its apex with the Nest Hub Max, a 10-inch smart display that also has good sound. We were iffy on Google Assistant and its error-prone activations in the past, but now that Assistant has been replaced by Gemini for Home and its new capabilities, we have no reservations in recommending this display.

The Nest Hub Max will show you your spoken commands so you know Google heard you correctly, it can deftly walk you through a recipe from popular cooking websites and it works seamlessly with Google-supported smart home cameras and video doorbells to display their camera feeds onscreen. You can use it as a side browsing screen, a home control hub or anything else you need.

• Four-quadrant color bulb for limitless customization
• User-friendly app
• Google and Alexa support

• Pricey for a singe bulb

Smart bulbs come in many sizes, but almost all are made to fit the existing light sockets around your home. One of our favorites is this LED floodlight model from GE Cync, ideal for kitchens, entryways, living rooms and otherbig spaces with floodlights. Unlike other color smart bulbs, this GE Cync bulb has four quadrants that you can switch between any colors you want for an overlapping or complementary effect, giving your space whatever vibe you desire with just one bulb. It supports scheduling, voice commands and other smart bulb tricks that come in handy when you're busy. We also found the GE Cync app particularly easy to use and really like that it has both Alexa and Google support. It's the most completesmart light option we've found if you are looking for a floodlight.

• Affordable
• Works with multiple smart home platforms
• Flexible scheduling and timing features

• Not HomeKit compatible

We often point to smart plugs as the entry point for anyone interested in trying out a connected home device. They're cheap, they're simple to install and they perform a function that's pretty easy to grasp, toggling power on and off remotely. 

Read more: Best Smart Plugs of 2026

You can find a lot of smart plugs out there. TP-Link's Kasa Mini is our favorite. It includes a single outlet that connects to your network via Wi-Fi. The app is well-designed and lets you program the plug to turn on or off on a schedule or even based on your location. It works with Google Home and Alexa, and it doesn't cover the adjacent outlet on a standard two-outlet wall fixture.

• Beautiful design and animations
• Learning features to automatically adjust temperatures
• Eco mode
• Monthly reports
• In-depth app controls
• Satellite sensor

• High initial cost

At CNET we're fans ofhow smart thermostats can save us money and make home temps easier to manage, but there are many choices and only room for one thermostat in your home. We love this Nest learning thermostat not only for its dazzling animations, but also for how it streamlines your savings with scheduling, eco modes and presence sensors that learn when your home is active and when it's quiet.

You also get monthly reports tracking your energy use and showing you how to save. Even a pricey thermostatcan pay for itself over a year or two with this kind of cost cutting -- and your guests may just stop and stare at how pretty it looks. This particular model also comes with a satellite sensor to get temperature readings in especially hot or cold places to help control the thermostat more precisely.

• Energy-saving, radiant heat design
• Wall-mounted to save space
• App controls for timers, automations, energy mangaement and more
• Low fire risks compared to other space heaters
• Google and Alexa compatibility

• Expensive for a space heater
• Must be installed carefully

Ordinary space heaters are energy hogs, hard to use and fire hazards that need constant attention. This Kelvin heater is the opposite: a smart radiant heater with little to no fire risk that mounts on a wall like a work of art. The app, which can connect to Alexa and Google Home, makes it easy to control from anywhere, set schedules and monitor your energy savings.

The radiant heat design takes a little while to heat up a room, so I set mine to come on an hour or so before people will be around. The only thing to keep in mind is that installation will take a bit of planning, since it mounts permanently on a wall. Otherwise, it's one of the smartest heaters I've seen.

• Wide, 160-degree field
• Built-in spotlight
• Excellent night vision and zoom
• Great smart home support
• AI detection features
• Very good app UI

• Subscription needed for all features
• Settings can be overwhelming for new users

The Arlo Pro 6 outdoor security camera is the latest upgrades to Arlo's outdoor, wireless line of cameras. The design is better than ever, the 2K resolution is crystal clear, and the 160-degree field of view is enough to easily capture a whole yard or driveway. Arlo also offers strong smart home support and an option for an extended battery pack.

There's one catch -- Arlo's cam requires a subscription to unlock video storage and its handy AI features, including the ability to recognize flames or provide event captions to summarize what happened when motion detection was activated. That costs at least $8 per month to activate, which means this camera is mostly for those who don't mind a subscription. If you don't like that, we havea guide on the best security cameras with no subscriptions, too.

• Reasonable pricing
• Helpful extras
• Includes a range extender

• Limited smart home integrations
• Range extender may be unnecessary

Ring's latest home security system beats the competition for two simple reasons: It's surprisingly affordable, with the eight-piece kit for $300 and competitive device-by-device pricing, and it offers a ton of value for that price. Not only do you get a range extender included, but you also get a Z-Wave radio for a variety of smart devices, cellular backup, local processing and storage, backup internet (in case of power or internet outages) and much more than in your standard DIY security array.

Monthly subscriptions range from $5 to $20 a month, which is on the lower end of the DIY home security spectrum, and it includes more smarts than most such subscriptions. If you're looking to give yourself a solid base to start building out a smart and secure home, you can't do much better than the Ring Alarm Kit.

• Easy installation
• Wide viewing angle
• Good night vision

• Subscription required
• A bit bulky

Many of Arlo's cameras are expensive if not overpriced but theArlo 2K Video Doorbell is much more reasonable. Not because of a lack of build quality or features.

The Arlo 2K Video Doorbell is priced well, it performs well and the Arlo Smart cloud service is competitively priced, starting at just $3 per month. With Arlo's subscription, you get a ton of features, from advanced motion alerts to 30 days of cloud storage and much more. 

The doorbell also offers 180-degree viewing angle with a head-to-toe design, significantly larger than many old doorbells. A built-in siren helps it function in part as a security camera, and if you have an Arlo security system you can add a fob to disarm via the doorbell and save tiem.

Read more: Best Video Doorbells of 2026

We've tested dozens of video doorbells over the years, and also like options such as thesimple, compact battery-powered Nest Doorbell, so if you're hesitant we encourage you to explore your options.

• Sturdy, high-tech lock design
• Access options include Apple Watch, keypad and hands-free smartphone sensing
• Smart home compatibility with various platforms
• Autolocking and home routine support
• Multiple options for appearance

• Requires a separate module for Wi-Fi

Smart locks are one of the simplests, most effective ways to get started with home security. We like this Yale lock for its wealth of access options, including an app, Apple Watch and keypad. Yale's lock is durable and did very well in all our tests -- plus it offers integrations with other smart home platforms. Features like auto-locking and temporary passes for guests make the lock even more useful.

Note that will you need a separate module to enable Wi-Fi for this lock, which is pretty important for remote control. If you don't want anything extra,plenty of other smart locks have Wi-Fi built in, including retrofit models that are easier to install on your current deadbolt.

• Extremely bright lights
• No subscription needed
• Panning camera with AI tracking

• Has to be hardwired
• Expensive

Eufy has been making some really impressive security cameras lately, like theEufy S350, and the Eufy S330 Floodlight Camera is just as great. It has all of the things we want from an outdoor security camera, such as extremely bright floodlights, crystal clear video, smart tracking and compatibility with all three major voice platforms. 

With its 3,000 lumens of power, you can illuminate your entire backyard. It's also dimmable, which is useful if you still want your neighbors to like you. What might be a negative for some is the requirement for the Eufy S330 Floodlight Camera to be hardwired. With as many smart features and powerful lights, constant power is a must. If you can make the power needs work, this is a fantastic option for your outdoor space -- and you won't need to pay for a subscription to use all the features.

• Larger 11-inch screen
• Upgraded spatial audio
• Alexa Plus is a better voice assistant
• Broad smart home compatibility, including live views from security cameras

• Alexa Plus is pricey without a Prime subscription

If you're a fan of Alexa and particularly the upgraded Alexa Plus conversational AI (free with an Amazon Prime subscription, otherwise $20), then this new 11-inch Echo Show could be the ideal hub for your smart home. It includes spatial audio upgrades and a larger screen that's even better for catching up on streaming videos or TV shows while you're working. Like Echo speakers, the display can answer questions, set reminders, make calls (video calls in this case) and control smart home technology. The upgraded Alexa Plus is also friendly and more capable than before, although you will need to connect your streaming services to get the most use out of this device. We like models like these for our kitchens and computer setups or similar areas.

• Compact design
• App support for alerts
• Also detects freezing conditions
• Two-year battery life

• Eufy's specific model needs a HomeBase for full functionality

Leak detectors occupy a small but important role in the smart home, sending phone alerts and activating sirens when they detect pooling or dripping water. These tiny devices can fit nearly anywhere, like under sinks or behind toilets, and have batteries that can last for years. They're often part of security systems, but we've tested stand-alone versions like this Eufy model that only needs a HomeBase to work, as well asthis solo model from SwitchBot. Either way, they are excellent gadgets for your home toolkit.

• In-depth readings on CO2 levels, temperature, humidity and more
• Highly portable
• Works with or without the app
• Many setting adjustment options

• A monitor with this many capabilities is a bit expensive, usually over $50

SwitchBot's air quality monitoring tracks temperature, humidity and CO2 levels right out of the box. You can put it anywhere you like to get fast readings, and connect it to the app to adjust settings, choose the update frequency and see if you'd like to get phone alerts. You can put it in your kitchen to see how your gas stove affects the air quality, mount it in a sun room or greenhouse, put it by the fireplace and much more, depending on your needs.